Santos is barred from throwing for 10 days to two weeks while inflammation in his right shoulder dissipates. Then he will embark on a throwing program and will likely need a minor-league rehab stint.

Santos was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday after his shoulder problem flared up the previous night while he completed a save in Kansas City. Dr. Lewis Yocum examined him Monday in California and confirmed the club’s initial diagnosis, a Jays’ spokesman said Monday night. No structural damage was found.

During much of spring training, the Jays held Santos out of exhibition games. Although the move was unusual, they said he was working behind the scenes to refine his changeup, which he rarely used in his first season as a closer with the Chicago White Sox last year.

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Santos has a 9.00 ERA and has given up runs in three of his six outings. In the home opener against Boston, he threw 33 pitches while recording his first of two blown saves. Against the Royals on Friday, he earned his second save while allowing a run in a 4-3 Jays win.

Francisco Cordero, a 14-year veteran with 328 career saves, moves from setup man to closer for the time being. He accepted the eighth-inning role when he signed as a free agent in the off-season. He said he felt comfortable wrapping up Sunday’s win, even if he did allow a run, and followed up with another save Monday night in Kansas City.

“It was really good to do what I’ve been doing for a long time,” Cordero told reporters.

• The oldest position player in the majors will reach another milestone in his storied career on Tuesday.

On the day his new team opens a series in Baltimore, Omar Vizquel will turn 45.

Now in his 24th season – and likely his last as a player, he says – Vizquel came to spring training with a minor-league contract and no guarantees. He enjoyed a solid camp and won the backup infielder’s job.

Known primarily for his defensive wizardry at shortstop, Vizquel has the physique of a man half his age, and a keen memory for detail too.

He still can summon a pristine image of his first opening day, when he was 22 and making his first start for the Seattle Mariners in Oakland.

“It was a dream come true,” he said. “I was playing against the Oakland A’s. There was a big elephant coming in and throwing the first pitch. It was a great national anthem, just awesome. And there was a guy rolling in on a cable all the way from centre field to home plate. They got fireworks on the field. It was the most amazing thing. It looked like the Cirque du Soleil.”

Vizquel’s memory was precise about the game details too. The youngster who would become one of the best defensive shortstops in history made a throwing error.

“After that error, [Mark] McGwire hit a homer, so I was pretty hurt about it. We ended up losing the game 3-2. Hey, that’s the price you pay as a rookie.”

• Henderson Alvarez and Kyle Drabek will take on the Orioles for the second time this season in a series that opens Tuesday night in Camden Yards.

In the final game, 21-year-old Drew Hutchison will bid for a second straight win when he makes his second big-league start.

In his first outing against Baltimore, Drabek worked a solid 7 1/3 innings in Toronto, allowing a run on six hits. He was shaky in his next start in Kansas City, walking six in 5 1/3 innings, but still managed to hold the Royals to two runs.

Alvarez, still looking for his first win, allowed three runs in seven innings in a game the Orioles eventually won 6-4 on Nolan Reimold’s two-run homer off Cordero.